


Feel It Move Through You

by McAwesome



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Dissociative Tendencies, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Papyrus Has Issues, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-12-09
Packaged: 2018-08-23 08:49:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8321557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McAwesome/pseuds/McAwesome
Summary: Your bones hurt.





	1. Chapter 1

Your bones hurt. Your bones have hurt for a while. 

It could be from running two hours one way before six in the morning, and then two hours back. 

It’s important to run, though. Important to visit your friend who is alone in the mountain. He may say he doesn’t want you there, but that has never deterred you before. 

Running also helps stave off the nightmares. 

…

“You’re here again.”

“Of course I am!” you respond. You know where this is going, but really hope he won’t force the issue today. 

He wilted. “I already told you I don’t want you here yesterday. And the day before, and the day before that. So, you’re here again. Why?”

“You’re my friend, of course! I couldn’t leave you alone.”

“Listen, buddy. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not your friend before you finally start listening?”

You only laugh. Truth is, you know you can’t start listening. Flowey is the only person who gave you support and encouragement and laughed with you instead of at you. If he isn’t your friend, then who is?

Flowey gets taken off guard as you jump into telling him about your day, but afterwards he seems content enough to listen.

An hour passes, and it is time for you to run back home before Sans woke up. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” you say happily, skipping out before he has the chance to respond. 

And you would see him again tomorrow. No matter how much it hurt your bones. 

…

For being a lazy person, Sans could be punctual. He is always down at 9:30, on the dot. 

The regularity never ceases to amaze you. It also gives you time to take a shower after your run, and then make oatmeal for Sans when he wakes up.

Sans has been rather busy lately working with Alphys part-time. 

You are proud of him. Seems like your brother is really pulling his life together. 

Sans didn’t tell you a lot about his work, as it was sci-fi-y stuff that he thought would go over your head. 

He told you a little, though. Things like the fact that Alphys really likes noodles, so you should give her a bucket of spaghetti as a gift. 

That suggestion seemed like a good idea, but when he told you that, he had the same look on his face as he gets when he starts pranking innocent bystanders. It gave you mixed signals and made you feel like you were missing something. It’s a feeling that you’ve decided you are much too familiar with. 

Lately, as Sans is reluctant to share more than ideas for different gifts you should give Alphys or Toriel, you’ve started focusing more on cleaning than asking him about his day. 

Part of you feels off, but Sans seems happy with how things are. On good days, he’ll even occasionally lend a hand. 

You’re grateful for that, because it’s starting to hurt to move your wrists.  
…

Today, Undyne is having all of the children take turns sitting on her back while she does pushups. The limiting factor doesn’t seem to be her strength, but the smaller size of her back. That doesn’t stop her, though. It is your job as “Coolest Gym Volunteer” to stack the children and catch them when they inevitably fall off. 

So far, she managed to get seventeen kids on her back. She tells everyone that once she gets to twenty, gym class will be over. 

You enjoy spending time with Undyne, even if just to see how cool and strong she is. She has such strong muscles after all. 

You're too busy looking at your own muscles that you almost miss catching a child. 

Undyne pauses from her push-ups. 

“Papyrus! Be more careful!” Her tone leveled out and she resumed her push-ups. “See, this is why we train, kids. No matter how cool you are, there’s always room to improve!”

You nod, but rub your arm. It felt almost disconnected after that kid had fallen on it. 

…

You stagger in through the entrance to the Underground. 

He is waiting, bent over in half.

“Flowey!” You plop down gratefully in front of him. 

He doesn’t answer.

“Flowey?”

There is a rustle of leaves as a breeze blows by. 

“Um, well. I had a good week this week. Yes. I cleaned a lot. When I went to the school to volunteer yesterday, Toriel gave me a—”

“Shut up.”

You blink, then brighten. “Oh, Flowey! You’re talking again! I was wo—”

“Shut up!” Flowey unfolds himself the slightest bit. “Don’t you know how to go a single second without listening to your own voice?” 

“I just. You weren’t saying anything.” 

Flowey’s eyes flash. “That’s because I want to be alone, you moron!”

“I can’t leave you alone!” You lean forward earnestly, trying to show your sincerity. “You’re my friend.” 

Flowey laughs a cold laugh. “You may be my friend Papyrus, but I’m not yours. Exercise that puny brain of yours and listen for once. I was using you to get the human souls. Even you’re not stupid enough to deny being told that straight to your face.”

You flinch back. That hurts, but you try to shove it away. “But—” 

“Listen, I’m not done,” Flowey’s face contorts into a vicious grin. “Why would I ever have any interest in you? You’re too loud. You’re self-absorbed. You only care about your own problems. You’re not even funny and your food is disgusting. Why would anyone want to be your friend?”

You look at the vicious grin. Look at Flowey perched in a patch of golden flowers near the entrance to the Underground. You can feel your body rattling,

“And yet,” You slowly respond. “And yet, you still came here to wait for me.”

Flowey’s face morphs back, surprise written on his features.

You stand resolutely. “You may say you aren’t my friend, but I don’t accept that. I think that you’re just in pain, and that made you a little confused.” You manage to etch a smile onto your face. “I hope when I come to visit tomorrow, you’ll feel better. Maybe I’ll bring you some fruit, since you don’t like spaghetti.”

Flowey scoffs and begins to speak, but you run out before he has the chance.

…

Flowey is gone the next day that you visit. As it turned out, you need the extra hour for your run anyway, because you find yourself running slower. 

When you get back, Sans asks you if you are feeling okay. Apparently you are walking stiffer, too. That’s strange, because you don’t feel much stiffer than you have in the last couple weeks.

The next time you visit Flowey, you bring an apple with you. Flowey still isn’t there, so you simply leave it. Later that day, you collapse when catching one of the children from Undyne’s human pyramid. She says you are off your game and sends you home. You are glad Sans and Alphys are gone working on an energy solutions study. Thinking about cooking and cleaning for him makes your limbs shake. That thought twinges your SOUL with guilt, but doesn't stop you from spending the entire rest of the day collapsed on the couch. You don't nap, though. Naps aren't a good idea for you. Sans likes them, but you always end up too shaky if you sleep too long.

The next day for your run, you bring a kiwi and put it next to the apple.  
The next day, an orange.  
Soon enough, the fruit left starts to mold. You decide you should bring more to make up for it.

A week later, on your way to visit Flowey, you trip and crack your Tibia in half. You gasp in pain, but the only thing on your mind is that now you couldn’t keep your promise to your friend to bring him fruit. 

No. That is unacceptable. 

You push on the ground and force yourself up onto a foot. The Great Papyrus doesn’t break promises, even if he has broken bones. 

You painstakingly collect the fruit within reach. Your wrist and spine crack, pop, and burn with the motion. You don’t even bother with the basket that held them. It’s too far away. You construct something of a prosthetic limb using a bone attack, but it’s strange—your magic reserves seem to be much more drained than they should be. 

You also notice that the lower and broken part of your leg, despite not currently holding any weight, seems more disconnected from you than it should be. 

Not that it matters. You have a promise to keep. You start forward, and stumble towards the mountain.

It takes you much longer than it should, every step seemingly shaking more of your body apart.

Your vision starts to go gray. You don't remember lighting a candle in your ankles, but your memory isn't the clearest.

You think you might have run into a tree. Are you still on the mountain anymore? You can't tell.

You have an orange, two oranges, to give...

It's been much too long sinc e you shd ahv been

Something warm wraps around your bones, and all you can see is fruit that is running, running, but only managing to dig into the ground.


	2. Sans 1

Sans’s phone had been buzzing off and on for the last ten minutes. To check it, or to not. That was the question.

He could look, he supposed. But if he checked it, he might need to actually move. It was way too early for that nonsense.

Then again, if he didn’t check it, there was a chance that whoever was texting him (probably Alphys) would keep on sending messages. Then he couldn’t enjoy his last five minutes of sleep before breakfast.

The phone buzzed again, five feet away on his treadmill. Taunting him. He tried to ignore it, until it went off again three seconds later.

 _Fine._ Sans groaned and rolled off his bed. From the floor he stretched his hand painstakingly far, and wrapped unwilling fingers around the phone. (It was a good thing that he put the phone on the conveyor to remind himself not to run on it, or he might have had to stand up.)

9:13 > hey sleepy beepy

9:13. Sans mentally facepalmed. _Al, how many times do I gotta tell ya to not text me in the middle of the night?_

9:13 > i got news  
9:15 > sans  
9:16 > sans  
9:17 > sans  
9:17 > sans  
9:17 > sans  
9:18 > sans  
9:18 > sans  
9:18 > sans  
9:18 > sans its big news

Sans rolled his eye-lights. Ever since the energy presentation he and Alphys went to, she’d been unable to hold back when anything about their sustainable energy project came up. No matter how inconvenient it was for him. According to Alphys, it was going to be their bridge in making friends with humanity.

9:21 > i called ur bro to wake u up  
9:21 > he didnt answer

That made Sans pause. Didn’t Pap usually wake up earlier than he did? He shrugged to himself. Sans didn’t really want to bring it up, but Pap had been looking pretty worn recently. It was good for him to get the extra sleep.

9:22 > so i will take responsiblty  
9:23 > sans  
9:23 > sans  
9:24 > sans  
9:25 > ill get dyne(<3) to get u  
9:25 > if u dont get up  
9:26 > worse ill tell u all of our lovey stories  
9:26 > u wont b able to escape <3

Sans couldn’t argue with that kind of logic.

< waddya need al?

9:28 > ha knew that u’d respond to that!  
9:28 > i got word 2day  
9:28 > we did it!  
9:29 > the energy board approved our design! ^^

< sweet  
< so all we need now is  
< to come up with a good name for the mini-core  
< i vote gerald

9:30 > omg  
9:30 > we arent naming our core gerald  
9:30 > thats not even the point  
9:31 > sides if we did we should name it smth like “strongfish”

< fine. capyrus then  
< like core but way cooler

9:33 > OMG DID YOU JUST

< you wanted to name it strongfish

Sans chuckled, and finally pulled himself off of the floor. He started to pull on his day clothes.

9:34 > touche  
9:34 > anyway can we meet up later?  
9:34 > to talk about plans?

< i dunno  
< can we?

9:35 > SANS OMG

< what  
< it’s a simple question

Sans started heading downstairs to breakfast. He vaguely wondered if he’d get brown sugar oatmeal or apple cinnamon oatmeal today. Papyrus generally only had one type of food that he ate every morning, but he mixed it up for Sans.

Sans felt his heart warm a little bit. What a cool brother. Even if he was stuck on making spaghetti.

Sans made his way over to the table and sat down. The kitchen was empty, which was a little strange. Sans was willing to give Papyrus a break, though. Papyrus might not think he needed one, but on days like these it was better to let him rest.

9:37 > U KNOW WHAT I MEANT

< what did you mean

9:40 > are u serious sans  
9:40 > i know its ur and paps day off  
9:40 > but can we just meet up l8r plz?

Sans chuckled and finally conceded.

< sure al.  
< i think pap could spare me for a bit

Sans continued clicking texts for a while. He considered grabbing a bottle of ketchup while he waited for his bro, but his thoughts were interrupted by a call from Undyne. Sans regretfully answered.

“Hello?”

“SANS!” Undyne’s voice rang through. “Where’s Papyrus? Is he okay?”

“Uh,” Sans stood up and glanced at Pap’s room. “He’s just sleepin’ Undyne. Maybe a little later than usual, but—”

“I called him earlier to talk about training! He didn’t answer his phone.”

Sans could feel beads of sweat building on his brow. “like I said, he’s—”

“Papyrus doesn’t sleep through phone calls, Sans!” she yelled. “He doesn’t sleep through anything.”

Sans was silent as he started back up the stairs.

Undyne waited a beat before continuing. “You couldn’t tell me he’s okay, so I’m coming over.” There was a click as the line was dropped.

“Pap?” Sans approached Papyrus’s door, and creaked it open with a shaking hand. A quick investigation of the room showed that Papyrus wasn’t there. A shaky second and third search confirmed it.

Sans sat on the racecar bed, contemplating. Papyrus had been here last night when he and Alphys had gotten back from their trip. He was looking shaky, but Sans figured that sleep would help. They even did their nightly routine (although, Sans realized, it hasn’t been quite as nightly recently as it used to be). Where was Papyrus now?

Papyrus didn’t know anyone that he could have gone and visited except for Undyne, and he clearly wasn’t with her.

Sans’s train of thought was interrupted by a loud bang. _Speaking of Undyne…_

He stood up to meet the footsteps that came running towards the stairs, but suddenly the footsteps stopped.

The following “WHAT THE HELL?” spurred Sans to run down to see what had been bad enough to halt a raging Undyne.

“IT’S _YOU_.” Sans could hear the sneer in Undyne’s voice, who was apparently now outside.

After clearing the door, Sans found the source of the contention: the giant, man-eating flower that had attacked them before the barrier was broken. Its tangle of vines seemed to be cocooning something.

Undyne instantly had a spear in her hand, and five more shimmering in the air. It was curious—the flower looked surprisingly conflicted for being threatened with bodily harm.

The spears rocketed towards the Flower, who rapidly came to a decision.

“Stop!” it yelled. “Wait! I’ve got something here you don’t want to get hurt!”

It managed to dodge the first set of spears, but Undyne didn’t relent. A new volley came soon after.

“WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM??” Undyne yelled, releasing her third volley.

Why didn’t it just run? Was it protecting something? Also, as Sans observed the exchange, he swore he heard something in that cocoon, like a rattle—a rattle of—

Sans dashed forward in front of Undyne. “Undyne, stop!” he yelled, right as the flower monstrosity was nicked by a spear on the side of its vine.

Undyne tried to get past him. “Get out of the way!”

“No.” Sans grabbed one of her arms. “Papyrus.” Undyne stilled. “He’s got Papyrus.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” it heaved, “but you seem too eager to kill for something as stupid as _listening_.”

Sans stepped forward half a step, refusing to let his legs shake. “Just show us Papyrus.”

The flower looked off to the side with a grimace. “Before you say anything, I found him like this, okay?”

Undyne opened her mouth to respond, but was silenced when the flower unveiled what was in his cocoon of vines.

Sans felt his eye sockets go hollow. _Don’t blame the plant,_ he reminded himself. _Not right away, at least. Gather information._

He cleared his nonexistent throat. “Where did you find him?”

The flower’s grimace deepened. “On Mount Ebbott.”

One of Sans’s eyes twitched. “ _Why_ would he have been on Mount Ebbott?”

“How am I supposed to know? I’m not his keeper.”

“Like HELL you don’t know!” Undyne, who had been strangely quiet, chimed in. “YOU’RE the one who found him!”

The flower’s face darkened, and he loomed on a vine threateningly. “Listen, I brought Papyrus back. That’s all you need to know. I don’t need to explain anything else, you ungrateful brats.”

With that, the plant disappeared. Papyrus was left lying on the ground.

Sans knelt on the ground next to his brother. Papyrus looked haggard, like he was one moment away from falling. His left tibia was broken, although it had been awkwardly set and wrapped with a stem of a plant.

“Let’s get him into the house,” Sans finally got out. He looked towards Undyne, who was pale and shaking with either rage or fear.

After a motion towards his brother, Undyne finally got the message. She carefully picked up the skeleton, and walked towards the house.

“I’ll,” Sans addressed the emptiness of Undyne’s wake. “I’ll get the doctor.”

He took two steps into a shortcut and swiftly disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

You blink at the sunlight filtering into your room. You’re lying in your bed.

You struggle for a moment to remember how you got here. You remember leaving to visit Flowey, but you don’t remember actually getting there. That strikes you as odd, because if you never got there, how did you get back home?

The wall clock clicks to two PM. You jump. How did you lose so much time? How could still you sit here doing nothing? Idleness is a terrible thing. It only leads to trouble. You get out of bed.

…or at least you would, if only you could move your body properly. Every joint feels like it wrenched into an ill-fitting mold. You push forward anyway, but pause when you flip off the covers and see a broken leg.

As if a broken appendage was enough to deter the Great Papyrus from doing the things that needed to be done (or not doing things that needed to be undone.)

It’s when you are executing your plot of your grand escape that Sans comes pattering in. He stops in surprise when he sees you awake.

“Bro!” He rushes over and pushes you back down onto the bed. You go willingly, although you aren’t happy about it. “You aren’t supposed to be awake for another couple hours!”

He hesitates to back away from you for a couple seconds. You can’t help but feel some concern—something must have really shaken your brother for him to be so clingy.

“I uh, I’m happy, though. That you’re awake, I mean.” You blink.

“Um, thank you? I’m happy you’re not off napping somewhere as well. You could very possibly be turning over a new leaf!”

Another moment passes. Sans sighs and flops down into his story-reading seat. A hand comes up to rub the front of his face.

“Well,” you continue, “I can’t very well unturn my own, now can I? There are things to do.” There is another pause, but you don’t move to get up. “By the way, Sans, I seem to have broken a leg.”

Sans chuckles, hand still rubbing his face. “Yup. You sure did.” His eyelights raise to meet yours. “Mind telling me how that happened, exactly?”

You think back. It was a little blurry, but… “I believe I tripped.”

“You tripped?”

You nod. The motion makes your neck burn. You stop.

"Did you land on anything?"

"Just the ground, from what I can remember."

"Hmm."

Sans is back at rubbing his face.

“Sans?”

“Sorry, bro. It’s just that, usually it takes way more than just fallin’ to break a bone.” Sans sighs. “Listen, Pap. The doc—you know that old turtle? Well, he’s here. And he’s gonna want to talk to you about this.”

“Sans, it was just a fall! I really don’t think—”

“Just let him talk to you, Pap. I’ll go grab him, okay? You stay put. It’ll be just a second.”

Your brother is out of the room a second later leaving you to fidget uncomfortably in the bed. Thankfully, you don’t have to wait long.

The door opens and the turtle—Gerard?—comes in. Sans follows shortly after.

Gerare sits in Sans’s seat and sets his walking stick next to him. He leans forward and studies you for a couple seconds. Honestly, the attention makes you feel a little uncomfortable. You’re not quite sure what to say.

“How are you feeling?” Gerdard starts.

“Um. I’m feeling fine. Thank you for asking.”

“Sans told me that you broke your leg by tripping.”

“Well, he’s not wrong.”

Gerool eyes you critically. “Your brother also says that you’ve been walking stiffly for the last while. Are your joints bothering you, son?”

You open your mouth to deny it, but the movement of your jaw reminds you of how blatant a lie that would be. Struggling to come up with something else to say, you close your mouth in silence.

“Hmm.” Gerupy takes a moment to think. “You know, I was just explaining something to your brother earlier.” He leans back. “Have you ever heard of FoDDer?”

You consider. “Well, when I was making my gauntlet of deadly terror, I had a cannon, into which I put fodder.”

“WAHA. No, not that kind of fodder. It’s one of those fancy acronyms that the higher-ups like for some reason.” Glurpy taps his chin. “I know it stands for something.”

“Falling Dissociative Depression?” Sans chimes in.

“Ah, I remember! Dissociative Falling Depression! Or maybe that’s the wrong order. Anyway. Do you know how long monsters usually live?”

“I wasn’t aware that monsters had a set life span,” you answer.

“Exactly! So how do monsters die then?”

“Um.” You glance to the side. “They… fall down?”

“And why do they fall down?”

“…because they’re sick?”

“But sick with what?”

You’re confused as to why he’s asking all of these questions. Why can’t he just say what he wants to say?

Something apparently shows on your face because Sans sighs and comes to sit on your bed. He eyes the turtle. “Gerson, my brother hasn’t had a great day. Maybe get to the point?”

“Sure, kid.” He sits up. “Here’s the basics. Unless they’re being physically hurt, monsters could live forever under the right conditions. Sometimes, though, they get sick. And that’s when they fall down. Sick with what? Well, sometimes it’s something like a parasite, but most often the fall catalyst is depression.”

At this, Sans seems to withdraw a little bit. Seems this topic isn’t one he’s very comfortable with. 

“Depression kills monsters when they give up completely, but a monster can still survive it if they have something to hold onto. Its symptoms are mostly just exhaustion and overall weakness.” Gernson scratches his nose and continues. “FoDDer, however, is a different case. It’s not simple depression. It happens when someone dissociates from their depression. Acts like it doesn’t exist. It eats away at the monster’s body, weakening them slowly. One day, they fall.”

With this, he gives you the hardest look you’ve seen from him. “Those feelings of sadness don’t just disappear, kid. If you push them down, they’ll just keep pushing against your sides until you explode.”

You’re confused. Is he saying you’re—? “I don’t—”

“You broke your leg, Pap. Just by fallin’.” Sans cuts in. “Your bones are weak. Your body ain’t working like it should, either. You don’t walk like you used to.”

Sans looks at you pleadingly. “Listen, bro. Something is obviously happening to you, yeah? There aren’t many options as to what that could be.”

“But, but…” Your brain starts to feel fuzzy. “I don’t think I—”

“That’s the point. You’re not accepting that you feel bad.”

You’re overwhelmed. Sans leans forward to touch lay a comforting hand on you, but Geerson stops him.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, sonny. It may not even be that severe.”

Sans looks almost affronted. It would be a little funny, if your skull didn’t feel like collapsing in on itself at any given moment.

“He broke a leg by _tripping_ —”

“I know, but overexertion can play a big role, too.” Garson turns towards you. “What’s your physical activity like every day, son?”

You don’t see any reason not to be straight forward. “Well, I run every morning, and then I help Undyne with her work.”

Sans shoots you an inquisitive look. “You run in the morning?”

“For how long?” asks Geberson.

“About four hours. Although recently it has taken a little bit longer.” You’re a bit embarrassed at that last tidbit of information.

“ _F-four hours_?” Gersone leans forward and slaps a hand onto Sans’ shoulder. He then turns to you with a serious expression.

“That’s the kind of thing that we need to talk about, kid. That might need to change, considering your current condition.”

“But I—”

“Where do you even go? Mount Ebbott? Why?”

“I visit a friend!”

“ _Who_?” Sans demands. “Who could be important enough—”

You see Gersone’s hand tighten. “That’s enough. Go downstairs.”

“But, Gerson!”

“Go downstairs. I would like to talk to your brother on my own.”

Sans seems distraught, but he follows orders. There’s a part of you that feels awful for your brother being sent away, but another part is relieved. It is unsettling to see Sans so upset.

After Sans goes through the door, Gerson leans back into his chair.

“How are you feeling, son?”

“You already asked me that.”

“WAHA. I know.” He scratched his chin. “Listen, kid. I’m going to sit up here with you for a couple minutes to avoid suspicion, but then I’ll give you some time alone.”

You nod gratefully.

Several minutes pass.

“Gerson,” you start. He jerks awake and rubs his eyes.

“Yes, son?”

“You mentioned that I would need to change my routine.”

“That I did.”

“What if I can’t?”

Gerson gives you a considering look. “Is there something stopping you?”

_Yes_ , you want to say. _Yes. I can’t be idle. Idleness is when bad things start creeping in._

“It’s just—it’s my routine. And I need to visit my friend.”

“If this person is really your friend, would they really want you to wear yourself out for them?”

“Maybe not, but I can’t leave him alone.”

Gerson sighs. “Well, no one can force you to do what you don’t want to. Just know if you keep going this way, your body is going to give out.” He pauses. “Think about it, okay?”

Gerson stands up and walks over to the door. “You got a lot of people who care about you, Papyrus. Let them help. You’ll be okay. I’ll be on call if you need me.” He turns the door knob and opens the door. Undyne bursts through the entrance.

“Gerson! I thought you’d never finish.” She eagerly comes near the bed. You notice she’s holding something metal in her hands. “You gave us a scare there, punk, but I’m proud of you for waking up so early! It shows resilience!”

She slams the metal contraption onto the ground. “Guess what Alphys made you?”

You scratch your head. “Is it a wheelchair?”

“Not only a wheelchair, but the coolest one you’ll ever see!” Undyne unfolds it to reveal a flame-pattern paint job. Her manic expression draws back into something saner. “I tried to get her to add actual flamethrowers or at least jetpacks, but she ended up just painting some on.”

Your figurative heart swells, and those are definitely not tears in your eyes. “Thank you, Undyne! I’ve always wanted a not-jet-propelled-but-almost wheelchair! Now I can finally fulfill my dream of flying down the largest mountain on the coolest chair!”

“Ha! I love the way you think, punk.” She grins viciously and gives you a noogie. It hurts much more than it should. “Hey, uh… I’m happy you’re okay. You gave us a scare.” She steps back. “And I don’t get scared! Which means you clearly were doing something not allowed, and you shouldn’t do it again.”

She rubs her neck. “Sans told me I had to let you rest, so I’m gonna go. But, get some sleep, okay?”

Undyne gives you one more large grin, and then leaves.

You’re slightly surprised that Sans doesn’t come back up, but maybe that’s for the better. He seemed pretty upset.

You suppose that they want you to rest, but everything in you is appalled at the idea. Luckily, the wheelchair is within reach. Hopefully you’ll be able to move around and maybe reorganize your bookshelf with limited difficulty.   
  
A tapping at the window next to your bed interrupts you. You look over to see a flower on the other side. You start to get up, but he gets the window open before you get the chance.

“Flowey! What are you doing? How did you get up here? It’s the second floor!”

Flowey grimaces. “I have my ways. Mostly involving the ivy on the side of your house.”

“Wowie, Flow. That’s so cool!”

Flowey huffs in acknowledgment but falls silent for a couple moments.

“I heard what the turtle told you. About overexerting yourself.”

You glance off to the side. “Ah, yes. That.”

“Papyrus. As annoying as it is to have someone completely ignore me when I tell them to scram, I, well.” He glances away, embarrassed. “It’s good to know that someone cares that much. And I, I. You were falling apart. I had to hold some of your bones together, and I’m not good at healing magic, and—”

“Flowey…”

His head lowered and face scrunched. “I don’t want you to die. So don’t, okay? If you’re really my friend, you won’t. You’ll-you’ll stop visiting me every day. Stop pushing yourself so hard. I don’t want to have to carry you back here, again. Okay?”

You look at Flowey, who adopted a stern expression, for a long while. Finally, you nod. “Okay.”

Flowey let out a small sigh. “Good.” He looks like he’s about to leave.

“Flowey?” Flowey’s eyes snap up. “I just. I’m sorry.”

He cocks his head.

“For not listening to you. It caused you trouble that you didn’t deserve.”

He huffs again but doesn’t respond.

“Also, I didn’t realize that you were the one that brought me back. So, thank you. For that.”

“Of course they didn’t tell you,” Flowey grumbles bitterly. He looks back up at you. “But, you’re welcome. It’s what friends do, right?”

Something sweet swells up in your chest. You nod.

Flowey give you a half smile. “Get some rest, moron.” He disappears from the window sill.

You fall back against your cushions. Yes, idleness is a terrible thing. It gives room for far nastier things to rear their heads.

Still, it has been so quiet since the barrier broke. Maybe a little rest wouldn’t be ill-advised.

…

  
After you take a short nap, you, Sans, Undyne, and Alphys all have dinner together. Alphys, it turns out, is an incredible cook. You consider asking her for tips, sometime.

You all watch the new Mettaton. Frisk is travelling with Mettaton, appearing in different interviews across the nation. You wish you could see them more, but you suppose that they are doing good work where they are. With Frisk, Mettaton, Alphys, and Sans’s efforts combined, relations between humans and monsters are really improving.

It makes you happy that your important people are able to do such good things.

The next morning you wake up, but you don’t go on a run. You don’t go and work out with Undyne, and you don’t help out at the gym.

You and Sans spend time together, though. Real time, where you talk to each other and spend time together like you used to in the Underground. After several days of this, it fills something that you didn’t realize you were missing.

You don’t leave the house for three weeks. Alphys and Undyne come over often, and Alphys and Sans work together on their project. You’re grateful for it, because it helps get some of the attention off of you.

Lady Toriel visits occasionally, as well. She brings you pie. You appreciate the sentiment, even if the taste isn’t exactly palatable.

After six weeks, your leg is fully healed.

Also after six weeks, you’re so stiff that you can’t move the rest of your body.

You try not to entertain the thought that the reason people come to spend so much time with you is because you’re sick.

You try not to entertain the thought, until you fall asleep one day

And wake up in Snowdin, completely alone. 


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing that strikes you as strange is the sheer stillness of the world around you. The trees are motionless. The snow falling from the sky is frozen in place.

The second is the fact that, no matter how hard you step into the ground, you don’t leave an impression. It refuses to acknowledge your presence.

You don’t know how you got to Snowdin, on the western edge of town. Maybe you slept walked outside of your house? That wasn’t right, though—you didn’t live in Snowdin anymore.

How did you get here?

Your feet take you on autopilot towards your house. The eerie stillness doesn’t disturb you, you realize. It resonates with you. The way that the town seems slightly warped strikes you as familiar.

The house, when you reach it, looks huge, bright, and colorful. The warm wood against the backdrop of shimmering white is only outclassed by the lights strung up over the house.

It reminds you of your first impression of the house when you saw it, and suddenly you realize, it’s all as it should be.

You walk in. The house seems warm, comforting. Like a cuddly cocoon. You sit down on the couch and sink slightly in the cushions. For the first time in a long time, you feel perfectly safe and content. This is your house, your personal house. Your sanctuary.

There are still things to think about, like why you are here in the first place. Still, this is not the place to think about those kind of things. It seems to ward off that line of thinking. It would ruin the peaceful serenity.

You kind of want to stay here forever.

Time passes, but it has such little meaning here—you’re not quite sure how much of it you lose, before there is an insistent knock on the door.

You glance over, but have no desire to open it. Whatever is out there could only bring trouble.

The knocking comes again, harder than the last time. Eventually, the door swings open itself to reveal a looming figure in the doorway. He doesn’t cross the threshold. His mouth is moving, but you can’t hear him from in here.

You have a feeling you know why he’s here, though. It doesn’t surprise you that he shows up.

That doesn’t mean that you appreciate his presence, however.

Still, maybe if you are in this place without meaning to be, it’s time to start listening.

Every step away from the comfort of your couch carries regret, but a thought towards the people you love—Sans, Undyne, Flowey, Frisk—makes you think that you need to face whatever is out there, even if it’s unpleasant.

As you make your way to the doorway, the figure moves to the side to let you out. Once your feet touch the snow, you turn around to face him.

You face yourself. An angrier, sadder version of yourself.

He only glares.

You shuffle awkwardly for a couple seconds. You strike a casual-guy pose. You try very hard not to let his glare get to you.

Eventually, the waiting is unbearable. “Were you wanting to say something, friend?”

He gives as cold a look as a skeleton with empty sockets can.

“Why should I talk to you when you never listen to me, anyway?”

“I am listening! But it is a very hard thing to do, if there’s nothing for me to listen to.”

He sneers and looks away.

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, why am I here?”

He looks back at you. “Why do you think you’re here?”

Snow is still stationary in the air. “Am I dreaming?”

“Ha. You wish.” His face becomes mournful. “You wish. I wish. We all wish.”

“I really am dying, then. This is what it feels like to be fallen.”

He shakes his head. “You should already know this. It’s much more than that.”

You scoff. “Don’t be ridiculous. What else could it be?”

“Stop it.”

“…what?”

“The denial. It’s not working for anyone.”

“I’m not in denial.”

“You’re not? Then what’s with this ‘what else could it be’ nonsense?”

Something inside you tightens. “It can’t be what you’re alluding to. It’s impossible.”

He stops and stills. His hands clench and unclench.

“It’s like.” He grits his teeth. “It’s like we don’t even exist.”

What? “Of course you exist. Don't be ridiculous.”

“We don’t exist if you never acknowledge our presence.”

“How am I—”

“I've only been trying to warn you about this for a long time. Trying to make you come to terms with it. It’s alright, though. I understand that you ignore the imperfect things.”

“What-- no I don’t!”

“Yeah, you do, and nothing's more imperfect than the real you. Heck, here you are, pretending to that everything here is hunky-dory, but look! Look around you! This place is falling apart.”

He gestures around himself, to all the little cracks, small slits of black, in reality.

Those holes. Those rips. The seams that seem to be getting bigger, that threaten to tear this world and others into little itty-bitty pieces.

“I’ve been trying to tell you for a while now! We’re supposed to be partners. It shouldn’t have taken you getting forcibly thrown into your own head to start paying attention to yourself!”

You plop into the snow, careful to avoid touching a black tear in reality hovering near your leg. “I’ve been dealing with it.”

“Yeah. I'm aware. Your method of dealing got us into this mess. And now, we don't have much time to get out of it.”

“It’s been quieter since the barrier broke. I’ve been getting better.”  
  
“Seems to me that it’s less the outside world getting quieter, and more the war getting moved inside. And because of your tendency to ignore, we only have limited time left.” 

He grabs your shoulders. 

"Papyrus. It's time to move. We need to go to the laboratory."

You don't feel as if you have much choice in the matter.

It's almost physically painful to walk away from your house. Walking to something you know will be much, much darker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that piece of you that's your emotionally unstable inner critic and let's you know stuff that you need to know but also treats you like as if it's jerk with anger management issues? Yeah. 
> 
> On another note, if you can figure out what's going on at this point, I'll give you three virtual cookies.
> 
> (donthateme)


	5. Sans 2

“I’m s-so sorry, Sans.”

Sans sat with his face covered at the side of his prone brother’s bed. He didn’t know how long Alphys was standing there. He didn’t even know if that’s the first thing she had said.

There was a part of Sans that felt bad for not listening. The other 95% of him couldn’t drudge up the energy to care. It couldn’t drudge up the energy for much of anything, besides sitting here, waiting for someone who would never wake up.

There were so many things wrong with this situation that made Sans want to rip his metaphorical hair out.

Papyrus had been doing better. He had been talking and laughing. He had cooked heaps of spaghetti. He was happier.

Bony fingers dug into his skull. How did this happen? How did he not notice earlier?

He almost scoffed at himself. The funny thing was that he _had_ noticed. Papyrus had been moving so stiffly and hardly ever ate in his presence. Pap’s expression also seemed to always have that same smile, to be set in stone, which didn’t strike him as strange at the time, but now… so yeah. He had noticed. He just hadn’t thought anything of it.

Sans knew that Pap was lonely and that he wanted more friends, but he could never had guessed—he could never have fathomed—just how deep it went. Or, hell, if that was even all there was to it. Maybe if he did, he would have done something.

The fact that it took a plant saving his brother’s life for him to realize that something bigger was going on was loathsome.

Something dark and slimy coiled in his gut. It slithered up through his rib cage and seeped into his bones. It threatened to strangle him.

Sans thought he had experienced hating himself before, but this. This was new.

He startled upward when a hand landed on his shoulder. Alphys. He hadn’t even noticed her crossing the room.

She didn’t say anything, though. She just looked at him, not even trying to hide her concern or her sadness. Maybe she realized that words were useless at this point.

Sans could feel her shivering as she leaned down and gave him a hug. It wasn’t as obvious as the movement of his own body, though. Rattling bones were painfully loud. Alphys slowly sunk onto the arm of his chair, not letting him go.

They stayed like that for a long time.

When Alphys finally pulled away, she took a new deck of cards out of her bag.

“I-I know this may not be the best time, but do you want to play something?”

Sans huffed a laugh. Yeah, now was not a good time, but when would any time ever be a good one again? ‘sides, Alphys was really trying, and it would probably be good to get out of his own head a little bit.

“Sure, Alph.”

She dragged a chair over to Papyrus’s action figure table. Sans turned his own chair to face hers, and watched as she dealt out some cards.

“What we playing?”

“I-I was thinking war.”

Sans nodded and rested his head on his hand while Alphys dealt out all of the cards.

“I haven’t seen Undies for a while,” Sans remarked casually. “You’d think she’d be here. For Pap, I mean.” It had actually been nagging Sans for the past couple of days. If Undyne really was friends with Papyrus…

Alphys nodded gravely as she dealt out cards. “Yeah, she’s been pretty upset. She hasn’t let me talk to her very much. I think she’s needed to, you know, destress.”

“So what she been doing, then? Punching down trees?”

“You may be joking, but I wouldn’t be surprised…” Alphys looked towards the window. “Sh-she’ll be back though. She just needs some time.”

“Hm.”

“Sans.” He looked up. “Don’t be too angry at her for not being here. You guys may deal with hard things in different ways, but… th-this is really hard for her, too.”

Sans huffed a laugh. “Who said anything about being angry?”

She fixed him with a flat look. “Your white-knuckled grip on the chair when you were asking about her did.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Alph, but I’m a skeleton.” He half-heartedly waved a hand in front of her face. “My knuckles are always white. I don’t get upset much, either.”

“Of course you don’t.”

Solemnly, they began flipping over cards. The game was uncharacteristically silent.

After ten minutes of stale-mate back and forth, Alphys finally spoke up again.

“S-Sans, I—I—”

He quirked a bone-brow at her.

“I just wanted to say that I, well. I. I may be. Concerned. About you.”

A hand came up to rub at his face. “Oh yeah?”

She nodded.

“You know I appreciate that, Alph, but I’m not the one you should be worrying about.”

She sighed. They continued to flip over cards. Sans considered Alphys a friend, but he couldn’t help the little spark of anger amidst his inner coil of slime at her priorities. He wished she cared more about his brother.

He glanced at her and noticed her watching his fingers. He forcibly relaxed them.

“If y-you’re wondering why, I, well.” She took a breath. “You haven’t left this room in four days.”

Huh, that long? The idea that Papyrus had been in a coma for four days—he felt his non-existent stomach turn into lead. Just—how did this happen? How could he have let this happen?

“Sans,” she put a paw on his hand. “I’m here for you, okay? Pa-Papyrus wouldn’t want you to act like this.”

“Ha, that’s true. Pap never likes it when I act like a lazybones. Unfortunately for him,” Sans glanced over at his comatose brother, “he’s too busy being one himself to get me to shake a leg. But if he wants me to stop, he’ll have to stop me himself.”

Alphys opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it and nodded. The game of war continued in silence.

…

Sans didn’t see Undyne until two days later. When she did show up, it was surprisingly quiet. There was no dramatic entrance or flying kitchen ware.

Only a light creak of the door.

“Have fun punching trees?”

Undyne scowled in Sans’s direction, but stopped when her eye caught the still form of Papyrus.

She hesitated. “He hasn’t moved since he first fell asleep?”

Sans shook his head. “I know, I know. His productivity has really fallen, eh?”

Sans was honestly impressed that Undyne didn’t strangle him right then and there. Something must have shown on his face, because her expression went from furious to something softer.

Undyne slowly sat in the extra seat next to Papyrus.

“I didn’t want to be here,” she explained. “I don’t want—I hate seeing Pap like this. It’s just not right.” She scrubbed at an eye. “Alphys asked me to, though. Said there was something I needed to know.”

“Huh.”

Undyne suddenly slammed both of her hands on the arms of her chair. “Argh, why am I even explaining anything to you! Like you care!” She stood up and marched to the window, bracing herself against the sill. “Dammit! This is so messed up!”

Sans shared the sentiment.

Before Undyne could start punching windows, the door opened again to admit Gerson, followed shortly by Alphys.

Undyne turned from the window, landing her gaze on Papyrus again. Her expression became even more agitated. Something in Sans rose up defensively. It wasn’t Papyrus’s fault that he was in a coma.

“Al! Are you going to tell me why you wanted me to be here?”

“Hey there, Shrimp.” Gerson stepped forward, and placed a comforting hand on her arm. “Why don’t you take a seat, here.” He motioned to the extra seat.

“Gerson, I—” Undyne started, paused, and let out a deep breath. She followed his instructions. Sans was honestly a little impressed. She must really respect the turtle.

Gerson conjured a stool for himself out of magic and took a seat next to Papyrus’s bed. Alphys moved next to Undyne and took her hand.

After clearing his throat, Gerson started to speak. “Doctor Alphys here has told me some worrying things about you two, shrimpy and skeleman. Apparently you aren’t doing so well.”

“Heh. If you wanna call having a fallen brother as not doing so well, sure.”

Undyne grit her teeth.

“Waha. I see.” Gerson took a moment to contemplate. Sans started to feel strain at having to pay attention to this. “The King and Queen wouldn’t approve of me telling you this.”

That took him off guard.

“But in this case, I think it may be needed. And luckily for you youngins, the Queen and King are not here! Waha!”

Sans decided not to mention that Toriel and Frisk had visited Papyrus yesterday, and that they were planning on visiting again after school today. He wasn’t even sure if anyone had talked to Asgore about Papyrus.

Gerson’s eyes grew distant. “Back in the bad old days, there was a war. Hundreds of millions of monsters were killed by humans. In those days, we lost so many monsters to violence, we believed that we couldn’t lose even more to something like naturally falling down. We developed a process to try to save emotionally fallen monsters.”

Sans’s back straightened, and he saw Undyne snap up.

“You mean, like—” Undyne interjected.

“Yes, monsters like your Papyrus.”

Undyne’s pulled her hand out of Alphys’s grip and jumped to her feet. “You’re saying--!!!”

“Sit down, shrimp.”

Undyne regretfully settled onto the very edge of her seat.

“This thing that we developed—we called it soul diving. When monsters fall, before they dust, they pull back into their soul space. Soul diving is when another monster connects their own soul to the fallen monster’s soul, and enters the fallen monster’s soul space with their consciousness. If you could help them at that level, they would be able to live.”

“So we can--!!”

“Undyne. Be quiet for a sec, okay?” Sans admonished. She scowled at him. That didn’t matter, though. If there was a chance, he needed to know exactly what was going on.

Gerson looked at them solemnly, then continued. “After the war, soul-diving was dropped. It turns out that diving into a soul in the process of falling apart is dangerous. Most times, it would end with two dusted monsters instead of only one.”

“Was it ever successful?” asked Sans.

“A couple times, yes. If the fallen monsters were caught early enough.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for!” Undyne jumped up. “The sooner the better, right?”

“Now, now. Think about this. Souls are surprisingly dark places, and they don’t handle intrusion well.”

Sans stood up as well and addressed the turtle. “Listen, from what it sounds like, if there’s any soul that can be dived into and survived, it’s Papyrus’s. This isn’t even a question.”

“You didn’t even let me finish, son. Even the gentlest of souls have their dark secrets,” Gerson warned. “When you soul dive, that darkness becomes a stark reality.”

“But what chance does Papyrus have otherwise?”

“Waha. Fair enough.” Gerson scratched his head. “The shrimp’s right. The sooner you soul dive, the more chance you have, even if my better judgment says that you two should think about this more. Which one of you are going?”

“I am,” Sans said, moving towards his brother.

“I’m going too!” Undyne yelled. She then turned towards Alphys, picked her up, and twirled her around. “Al! We’re going to save Pap!” Alphys sputtered out some partial affirmative.

Sans watched Undyne warily. “Is it okay for both of us to go?”

“Well, it will be more of an intrusion, but the help you can give each other probably outweighs that.”

Sans sighed and nodded.

Undyne put Alphys down, and her expression hardened. “Tell us what we need to do.” 


	6. Chapter 6

It took them twenty-seven seconds to wonder exactly what they had gotten into.

The soul connection only had taken a surprisingly short amount of time to set up. A couple of magical tethers, a soul current, and everything went black.

Sans woke up to the feeling of hard stone beneath him. At first, the warmth emanating off of the stone was nice. Relaxing. His mind felt a little foggy and disoriented, so he was content to continue to lay there and let his brain sort itself out.

That is, until the stone started vibrating. Sans opened his eyes, fighting off the grogginess. He saw Undyne sitting with a hand on her head only a few feet away.

A quick glance to their surroundings showed them to be somewhere in Hotland, on a solitary red stone pillar.

A pillar that seemed to be dropping in altitude…?

“Oh, crap.” Sans scrambled to his feet. Undyne must have noticed about the same time, as she flew to her feet, too, and stumbled towards the edge. The pillar was dropping, all right. Slowly sinking into the lava.

“The hell? Why are we in Hotland?” She looked confusedly towards Sans. “Is this Pap’s mind? I thought he hated this place!”

“Guess so.” Sans was also curious about why the air around them looked like it had hundreds of spear holes floating in it. The pillar gave a jerk , and seemed to start falling faster into the lava. “We can figure that out later, 'cause we're in _pretty hot water right now._ ” A quick glance around showed a couple of safe-seeming walkways that they could teleport to. “Gimme your hand.”

“What are you planning?”

“I’ll get us out of here. C’mon, your hand.”

Undyne looked at Sans’ outstretched hand with some measure of distrust before complying.

“What is this supposed to do? You gonna blue magic us?”

Sans shook his head. “Nah. You’ll see. Let me concentrate.”

They stood there silently for a few seconds.

Beads of sweat started to appear on Sans’ forehead.

“So…?” said Undyne.

They stood there for another few seconds. The pillar shook beneath them.

“Um,” Sans said, scratching his head with his free hand. “on second thought, maybe blue magic would be a good idea.”

“So, do it then!” Undyne nearly yelled.

More seconds passed, and more than half of the pillar was under the lava. Sans squinted hard at where Undyne’s soul would be if it were visible.

“SANS!”

“I can’t.”

“What?”

Sans looked Undyne in the eye. He could feel sweat running down his face. “Like I said, I can’t. My magic isn’t responding.”

Undyne stared at him, dumbstruck for a couple seconds. She turned and raised a hand, as if to summon a spear. Her eye widened.

“I can’t—” she started, before whipping back towards Sans. “We don’t have magic?”

“Guess no—” The platform jerked and began to tilt.

“Either way,” Undyne yelled, “we need to get off of this damn rock! Come on!” She scooped up Sans, ignoring his muffled “Hey!” and leapt from the pillar.

As they hurtled through the air towards a safe walk-way, a long black blur swiped down at them. It hit a startled Undyne in the side, causing her to lose her grip on her cargo. Both of them hit the dirt with an “oof.”

In the direction that they had come from, Sans saw that one of the floating holes had a black whip-like shape receding back into it.

“What the hell was—Sans!” Sans looked to Undyne in surprise, before he felt something cold and wet wrap around his ankle. Suddenly he was being dragged across the ground, towards another rift. He heard Undyne running towards him.

Sans instinctively tried to throw summon a bone to cut off the tentacle, but his magic still refused to respond. He struggled, but the grip was too strong.

Sans was getting disturbingly close to the rift before Undyne flew in from the side. With a resounding “NGAAHH” she stomped on the tentacle, halting its progress.

Sans tried to pull his leg away, but it still wouldn’t let go.

“Don’t worry, Sans,” Undyne said. She reached down and was about to grip the tentacle holding him, when another came hurtling out of the rift behind her, grabbing her around the chest. Undyne stumbled for a couple of seconds, before growing resolute.

“YOU WANNA PLAY IT THAT WAY? FINE.” she yelled. It took one fierce rip to make the tentacles into a detached, writing mess. She turned her sights on Sans’ tentacle, and quickly ripped it off of him.

A quick glance around showed that more of the rifts were beginning to open, black starting to seep from them.

Undyne quickly flipped Sans under her arm, and began to sprint away.

Sans rattled under her arm, a little disoriented. He tried to get her attention by tugging on her arm.

“Undyne!”

Undyne flipped over a rift in the ground and continued to swerve through the searing heat, which made Sans grab onto her torso. She was feeling very clammy. No wonder she was so focused—the heat must be getting to her.

Sans thumped her on the back. “Undyne!”

“What?” Undyne breathed, not breaking her focus on their surroundings.

“Where are you”—they made another leap over a lava pool— “t-taking us?”

She glanced down at him, and almost got hit by an incoming tentacle. She managed to swerve around it, barely.

“The surface! Duh!”

“But—”

“I’m trying to concentrate! Shut up!”

Another tentacle that they jumped by managed to snag Undyne around the arm. She slightly faltered, but was able to rip it off.

“Undyne,” Sans pleaded, “we need to go the other way.”

The look she gave him was borderline frenzied. “You wanna go _back_  through _that_?”

“Listen. This is Pap’s mind. We don’t even know if there is a surface.”

Undyne turned the corner to the MTT resort, and suddenly the decision was made for them.

Sans hardly noticed Undyne stopping short, too busy gazing at this horrific pestilence in Papyrus’s soul.  
  
The resort itself wasn’t even present. The core behind it, however, was. It was a massive column of writhing blackness, which seemed to spiral into a black hole. Here, it seemed less like there were rips and tears in space, and more like there were large jagged shards of _existence_ in the gaping void that should have been the core.

“The hell is that? Is it the reason Papyrus is falling down?” she demanded.

At the sound of her voice, the mass came alive. Hundreds of dark shapes squirmed and then shot out towards them.

“Aw, crap.” Undyne hefted Sans and bolted the other way.

There was a whoosh of air behind them as the blackness followed. Sans glanced back to the mass, which seemed to be receding. Apparently, it was unable to get too far away from the core.

“So, the surface isn’t an option,” Undyne yelled, jumping back onto the red dirt of Hotland. “Where are we going? Snowdin?”

“Yeah. Farther away from this place would be good,” he said, as they collided with one of the elevators while turning a corner. “Plus, Pap will probably be there.” He glanced at the Hotland steam vents as they flew by. “More likely than here, at least.”

Undyne gave a nod of acknowledgment and continued to run.

As they approached Alphys’s lab, while there were still rifts, the number of active tentacles seemed to drop to zero. Sans considered this as they bounced along. Did it have something to do with their proximity to the Core? The farther away they were, the safer they were? It was possible.

Undyne abruptly stopped. He glanced at her, to see her looking very intently at something. From how he was angled, he couldn’t clearly see what.

“Undyne?”

“I saw something,” she huffed, before running off to the left.

“Hey!” He tugged at her sleeve. “ _Currently_ , we're supposed to _flow_ the other way. You know, towards Snowdin?”

She ignored him. As they hurried forward, Sans saw what had caused her to stop: the ground had a circle of cracks in it. In the center, what looked like a black cocoon half as tall as Undyne was currently surrounded by air rifts and tentacles—tentacles that seemed to be trying to drag it towards them.

Undyne stopped running, and stared at the scene.

“Guess that’s why we’ve been getting attacked less—all of them tanglies are over here,” Sans remarked.

Undyne nodded and set Sans down. A hand came up to wipe sweat off of her forehead. “What—what is that thing?”

“I dunno, but it looks like…” Sans paused. It was strange—the cocoon was avoiding the black whips, yet it seemed anchored in place. Then it hit him—the cocoon wasn’t moving, but the land was. Whatever was in that cocoon was being protected by Papyrus’s mind.

Suddenly, the land where they stood began to crack and break away from the rest of the terrain, sinking into the lava.

Undyne breathed out a long-suffering sigh and prepared to scoop Sans up again. “Guess Pap doesn’t want us here. Time to go.” Sans batted her hands away, and began to walk briskly towards where the black cocoon was getting attacked.

“Sans!” Undyne wearily sprinted after him. “What is it?”

“Look, Undyne.” He pointed. “It’s not even getting touched.”

“So…?”

“I think Pap’s mind is protecting it.”

“Pap’s mind is protecting it from Pap’s mind?? Sans, that makes NO SENSE.”

“It might not, but his soulspace has been attacking us since we got here, probably because it thinks we don’t belong. If it’s _protecting_ something, doesn’t it make sense—”

Undyne interjected, “That it’s part of Pap. Okay, I get it.” She let out a sigh and straightened her back. “That’s what we came here for, right? To save Papyrus. I’ll be back.” Sans nodded.

A quick burst forward, and Undyne quickly closed the distance between herself and the cocoon.

The land tried to form a wall over the cocoon, but she vaulted over it, landing next to the cocoon itself. It was only a little more than half her size. The ground shifted the cocoon away from her. With this movement, one of the many tentacles surrounding it was able to get a hold on it.

A large spike from the ground rose up and severed the tentacle into two.

Undyne quickly gave chase after the cocoon, jumping on top of it. The ground underneath them began to swallow the cocoon, but Undyne was not to be deterred. She wrapped it in a tight bear hug, and pulled it away with her patented Pick Stuff Off the Ground half-suplex.

The tentacles and the land reacted immediately. As quickly as the spikes came up and the tentacles came down, Undyne jumped out of the area with all of her strength.

She ran with the cocoon under one arm , and grabbed Sans with the other as she passed. It took them only a few minutes to get to Alphys’s lab.

“Do you want to risk going in?” Undyne shouted, as they approached. She tried to not look at the rumbling earth and tentacles that tried to catch up with her.

“…Is there an option not to?”

Undyne grinned fiercely. “Yep.”

“WhaaaAAAAA—” Without warning, Undyne leapt to the top of the building, ran across, and jumped back down. The bridge past Alphys’s lab was missing, so Undyne leapt over the lava canyon, too.

“Holy shit,” Sans wheezed.

Within a couple of seconds, they made it into Waterfall. The land stopped moving and the rifts quieted.

Undyne stumbled over to her dramatic speech rock and promptly dropped Sans and the cocoon, before slumping onto the ground herself.

“Never running that much through Hotland again,” she puffed.

“Heh.”

“What?”

Sans shrugged, before walking over to the cocoon. “Just interesting that you can still be affected by the heat, here. Anyway.” He leaned over the slithering black surface. “What do you suppose is in here?”

“Dunno. You were the one that thought it was Papyrus.”

Sans scratched his head. “Seems a little small, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know what else we would find in here, though.”

“Welp, I suppose there’s only one way to find out. We gotta open it.” That said , Sans plopped down next to the cocoon and closed his eyes.

“So?”

“Hmm?”

Undyne could feel her eye twitching. “Are you going to open it?”

“Well, I’m pretty tired.”

“Ugh, you haven’t even done anything yet! I carried you that entire way!”

Sans shrugged.

“FINE!” Undyne stomped over and gripped deep in the dark material, before pulling it apart. At this, Sans perked up and eagerly awaited what was underneath.

Layers of black gunk broke away to reveal a sleeping skeleton. The damp chill of waterfall outside of the cocoon made Papyrus shiver, despite the red scarf around his neck, the matching mittens on his hands, and the striped sweater on his tiny body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all puns in this chapter, as well as the overall quality as a whole, are attributed to AnonJ. They were kind enough to edit it for me.


End file.
